Belly Button Designs kicked off its Festive Friday activities a few days early this year, spreading cheer in Manchester’s Withington Hospital.
The generously-hearted publisher took lots of its Christmas cards into the hospital and ‘set up stall’, and made them available to everyone free of charge. From hospital porters to top surgeons, patients to visitors were encouraged to select some Christmas cards and if they wrote them on the day Belly Button would cover the cost of the postage too.
Rachel Hare, md of Belly Button Designs said: “It has been so busy that the girls from our team had to come back to the office for more stock!”
The publisher also made some of its Bubble giftbags available too, with any donations being made to the Withington and Christie’s hospitals.
(Belly Button’s Festive Friday celebrations are continuing today with more activities in its own shops and office with Christmas card writing galore).
Retail group Scribbler has doubled its commitment to support children’s hospital charities – building on its relationship with the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital by linking up with Poole Hospital’s children’s ward.
The London-based retailer, owned by John and Jennie Procter has been supporting the school at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, which is for patients who would normally be deprived of an education during treatment. “Last year we were able to donate to them, our carrier bag charge, excess stock for a stall in the foyer and collecting boxes in all the shops,” explains Jennie. “Some of the funds were used to buy extra sensory equipment in the isolation rooms. A massively worthwhile cause.”
The retailer is this year donating the funds from its carrier bag charge to Poole Hospital children’s ward to kit out Gully’s Place, a unit at the end of the ward which is fitted out specifically for the use of terminally ill children and their families.
While John and Jennie have every intention to continuing to donate Scribbler’s old stock to the hospitals they also wonder whether other publishers might too be interested in helping.
“We just wondered if any card companies might donate old stock to these very worthy causes…” said Jennie planting a charitable seed.
Top: The nurses of Whittington Hospital lapped up the opportunity of a Belly Button (early) Festive Friday celebration.
